Late Rally Falls Short For Falcons In 42-35 Football Loss to Virginia State

Box Score

ETTRICK, Va. - Led by three touchdowns from Roderick Davenport (Redshirt Jr./Orangeburg, SC), Saint Augustine's University mounted a furious rally with 21 unanswered second-half points but fell short in a 42-35 CIAA football loss to defending Northern Division champion Virginia State University at Rogers Stadium on Saturday, October 4, 2014.

The Falcons (1-1 CIAA, 1-4 overall) threatened to tie the game after John'ta Cooper (Sr./Cairo, GA) forced and recovered a fumble in VSU territory with 2:22 left, but Cyril Davis (Redshirt So./Orangeburg, SC) was sacked on fourth down with 1:15 remaining to end the threat.

"The good thing I see is the kids fought," SAU Interim Head Coach Michael Morand said. "[The Trojans] were 7-0 in the conference last year, and they are 2-0 in the conference now. We will get better if we keep working hard and doing the things we need to do to get better."

Despite the loss, Morand was proud of his team's effort in the second half. On the same day the Falcons' played, a funeral was held in Georgia for teammate Matthew Mangram, who passed away on Monday morning in a car accident. A moment of silence was held in Mangram's honor before the game.

"First of all, my heart goes out to M.J.'s family," Morand said. "That's who we were playing for today. We granted his mom's wish to play hard for him. And I mean they really played.

"We jumped on them early and then we tapered off. Then I could see the fight come back in them. We kept plugging away."

Davenport, the CIAA leading rusher, gained 145 yards while Davis completed 15 of 29 pass attempts for 277 yards and a score for the Falcons, who gained 427 total offensive yards. Claytin Lewis (Fr./Raleigh, NC) grabbed four passes for 126 yards including a 64-yard touchdown bomb from Davis to give the Falcons an early 7-0 lead. Jamal Parker (Redshirt So./Hampton, VA) added seven receptions for 97 yards.

Carlton Butts (Sr./Thomasville, GA) led the Falcons with 11 tackles. Michael Lima (Redshirt Sr./Miami, FL) averaged 50 yards a punt including a school-record 75 yarder.

Virginia State (2-0 CIAA, 3-2 overall) was led by quarterback Tarian Ayres, who rushed for three touchdowns. Louis Johnson gained 107 yards for the Trojans, who gained 428 total offensive yards. Andrew Faison Jr. had 11 tackles.

The Trojans led 42-14 after Earl Hughes scored on an 11-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter, but the Falcons climbed back in the contest behind the running of Davenport. The Falcons' tailback scampered 36 yards for his first score in the third quarter, and later added scoring runs of four and five yards in the fourth quarter to pull the Falcons within 42-35 with 3:23 left. His second score was off a fumble recovery by Elijah Evans (Redshirt Jr./College Park, GA), who had nine tackles for the Falcons.

The Falcons' sideline erupted with jubilation when Cooper stripped VSU's Hughes and fell on the ball with over two minutes remaining. The turnover put the Falcons in position to strike from the VSU 35 and force overtime.

But facing fourth down and three at the VSU 28, Davis was sacked for a three-yard loss by Brandon Lynch and Ray Prosise which ended the Falcons' chances. The sack was the first for the Trojans in the game.

The Falcons were fired up in the opening minutes as Davis connected with Lewis for their long touchdown on the game's third play. It was the third consecutive game that the Falcons scored first.

The Trojans responded with touchdowns on their first two drives for a 14-7 lead. Both Johnson and Ayres scored on short runs to give their team the lead.

The Falcons tied the game on a quarterback sneak from Davis in the second quarter, but Ayres added two more touchdown runs for a 28-14 Trojans halftime lead. His second touchdown score – from nine yards out – capped a seven-play, 97-yard drive which was aided by personal foul and facemask penalties by the Falcons after Lima's 75-yard punt pinned the Trojans at their three.

Kavon Bellamy of the Trojans opened the second half with a 15-yard touchdown run and Hughes added his score before the Falcons mounted their comeback.

The Falcons will play the second of three consecutive conference road games against Livingstone College in Salisbury, N.C., on Saturday, October 11 at 1:30 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

#11 Carlton Butts: LB; 6' 2"; Senior

#24 Roderick Davenport II: RB; 6' 1"; Junior

Cyril Davis: QB; 6' 2"; Redshirt Sophomore

#84 Michael Lima: K; 5' 10"; Senior

#65 Matthew Mangram: OL; 6' 1"; Junior

#81 Jamal Parker: WR; 5' 9"; Senior

#21 John'ta Cooper: DB; 5' 10"; Senior

#2 Elijah Evans: LB; 6' 3"; Redshirt Junior

#9 Claytin Lewis: WR; 5' 10"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#11 Carlton Butts
: 6' 2"; Senior
: LB

#24 Roderick Davenport II
: 6' 1"; Junior
: RB

Cyril Davis
: 6' 2"; Redshirt Sophomore
: QB

#84 Michael Lima
: 5' 10"; Senior
: K

#65 Matthew Mangram
: 6' 1"; Junior
: OL

#81 Jamal Parker
: 5' 9"; Senior
: WR

#21 John'ta Cooper
: 5' 10"; Senior
: DB

#2 Elijah Evans
: 6' 3"; Redshirt Junior
: LB

#9 Claytin Lewis
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: WR

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned

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